Uttarakhand: Mining should not be done with machines in rivers… High Court sought response from the government and other parties
The High Court heard a PIL challenging the validity of the amendment in the Uttarakhand Minor Minerals (Concession) Rules. The court said that the permission given for mining under this amendment does not require the use of machines for mining in rivers. The court has directed the government and other parties to file a reply within four weeks.
The court has fixed January 8 for the next hearing of the case. The case was heard before a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma. Satyendra Singh Chauhan had filed a PIL in the High Court saying that the state government has given backdoor entry to Letter of Intent holders who are unable to obtain permission from the concerned agencies to carry out mining work under the guise of dredging policy.
Only these should get permission
This permission will remain till the necessary approval is obtained from the concerned agencies. The petitioner’s advocate argued that by using sub-rule (9), mining has been allowed in all the rivers within the state, even if the necessary permission is not obtained by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and other concerned agencies. He said that such mining is done using machines which is also not permissible under the provisions of the Mining Policy and Uttarakhand Minor Minerals (Concession) Rules 2023.
According to the government advocate, under this provision, only that person is allowed to carry out mining work, who has been issued a letter of intent, who is ready to pay double the amount payable as royalty. He clarified that dredging is done to channelize rivers so that the river does not change its course.
It also said that the amended provision is to ensure that the person who has been given the letter of intent does not suffer due to delay in granting clearance for mining by the concerned agencies. If any other person is allowed to extract RBM under the dredging policy, it will be injustice to the person who has already been given a letter of intent for mining from the same river.
